Burolis

Purpose 

Burolis is a database that allows Canadians to know if federal offices provide services in English, in French or in both official languages. The language designation of federal offices is determined in accordance with the Official Languages Act and is based on the circumstances and conditions set out in the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations (Regulations).

Federal institutions are obligated to inform Canadians of their bilingual office locations and Burolis helps them fulfill this requirement.

Burolis search results also include, but are not limited to, contact information for a given office, the type of services offered and hyperlinks to the institution’s website. Users are encouraged to consult the information displayed directly on the institution’s website, as contact information updates to Burolis are updated sporadically.

It is intended for all Canadians, but may be of particular interest to members of official language minority communities and to organizations working to promote their development.

Services provided by third parties

Federal institutions are required to inform Canadians where they can obtain services in their preferred official language, including where those services are offered by third party businesses and organizations on behalf of the institution.

Burolis helps institutions fulfill this obligation by providing this information for federal offices but does not include most third-party businesses and organizations. Users are encouraged to consult the institution’s website for more detailed information.

Legislation 

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Part IV of the Official Languages Act ensure that Canadians can communicate and be served in the official language of their choice when dealing with the Government of Canada and its institutions, in certain situations.

Part IV and the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations (Regulations) enable federal institutions that are subject to the Act to determine the language obligations of their federal offices with regard to communications with and services to the public.

Language designations 

An office or facility must provide services in both official languages and is designated bilingual if it meets one of the following conditions:

• It is a head or central office.
• It is in the National Capital Region.
• The institution reports directly to Parliament.
• There is significant demand for services and communications in both official languages.
• The nature of the office justifies that both official languages be used in communications and services.

There are approximately 11,000 offices providing services to and communicating with the public. Of these, approximately one-third are required to provide bilingual services.

Federal institutions must review the application of the Regulations every 10 years, following publication of the language data from the most recent decennial census. This review takes place during the Official Languages Regulations Reapplication Exercise (OLRRE) and determines the language designation of offices.

For more information:

• Open Government Licence - Canada
• Open Data Portal
• Data on the Official Language obligations of some federal offices: 2017-03-31 (CSV, XHTML)
• Data dictionary for language obligations of federal offices (XHTML)